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Republicans and Democrats agree on little when it comes to healthcare, and The Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), yet the current Senate standoff illuminates one trend that crosses party lines: Senators from states where Baby Boomers are the most populous generation overwhelmingly oppose the bill.

Baby boomers are the largest generation in 18 states. Half of the 36 Senators from these states are Democrats (including Angus King-ME, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats) and half are Republicans. The current count has 23 Senators from these states no/leaning no, and 13 yes/leaning yes.

Five of these states are represented by two Democratic Senators (NM, MI, NH, CT, RI), all of whom are opposed to the bill. Five more of these states are represented by two Republican Senators (WY, SD, IW, SC, UT). One Republican in this group opposes the bill (Mike Lee-UT), but has done so because it is not conservative enough.

The takeaway here is that older constituencies appear to correlate with greater reluctance by Senators to support the BCRA. This is little surprise given that older people vote in the largest numbers. The demographics won’t change anytime soon, so it’s hard to see how Republican leaders can build support through other incentives.

Luke Perry (@PolSciLukePerry) is Professor of Government at Utica College. His column Sound Off! critiques various aspects of presidential politics.